Mr. \u00c1lvarez-Pallete has a degree in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid and he also studied Economics at the Free University of Brussels, in Belgium. He holds an International Management Programme from IPADE an Advance Research Degree from the Complutense University of Madrid.<\/p>\n
In February 1999 he joined the Telef\u00f3nica Group as Chief Financial Officer of Telef\u00f3nica Internacional S.A.U., and in September of the same year he became Chief Financial Officer of Telef\u00f3nica S.A. In July 2002, he was appointed Executive Chairman of Telef\u00f3nica Internacional S.A.; in July 2006, General Manager of Telef\u00f3nica Latinoam\u00e9rica; and in March 2009 Chairman of Telef\u00f3nica Latinoam\u00e9rica. In September 2011 he was named Executive Chairman of Telef\u00f3nica Europe, and in September 2012 he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Telef\u00f3nica S.A.<\/p>\n
Since April 8th 2016, he is Chairman & CEO of Telef\u00f3nica S.A and he joined the board of directors in July 2006. Since March 2019 he is member of the Advisory Council of SEAT, S.A.<\/p>\n
He began his professional career at Arthur Young Auditors in 1987, before joining Benito & Monjard\u00edn\/Kidder, Peabody & Co. in 1988. In 1995 he joined the Compa\u00f1\u00eda Valenciana de Cementos Portland (CEMEX) as head of the Investor Relations and Analysis Department. In 1996, he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in Spain, and in 1998 to Chief Administration and Finance Officer of the CEMEX Group Indonesia and to a member of the Board of CEMEX Asia Ltd.<\/p>\n
In 2001 he was granted the best \u201cCFO Europe Best Practices\u201d award in the Mergers & Acquisitions 2000 by the CFO Europe Magazine. In 2003, he was appointed \u201cMember of Merit\u201d at the Ibero-American Forum of the Fundaci\u00f3n Carlos III and in 2007 he was awarded with the \u201cGold Master\u201d of the Executive Management Forum. In 2011 he received the \u201cPersonality of the Year in Economics Award\u201d, given by the Spanish newspaper El Economista. In 2013 he received the \u201cExcellence 2013 Award\u201d for his contribution to the development of telecommunications, granted by the Spanish Telecommunication Engineers Association. In 2014, he received the \u201cMedalla Sorolla\u201d by The Hispanic Society of America, he was named \u201cInnovative Corporate Leader of the Year\u201d by Latin Trade Magazine and the magazine FastCompany included him in its \u201c100 Most Creative People in Business 2014\u201d.<\/p>\n
In 2016, Mr. \u00c1lvarez-Pallete was named \u201cBest CEO\u201d in Spain by Forbes Magazine and the Consejo Superior de Deportes granted him the entry in the \u201cRoyal Order of Merit Sports\u201d in the category of Bronze Medal. In 2019 he was granted with the \u201cCross of Military Merit with white distinction\u201d, he received the \u201cManager of the Year\u201d award in the Large Corporations category granted by the Asociaci\u00f3n Espa\u00f1ola de Directivos, and was chosen \u201cBusiness Leader of the Year\u201d by the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce. In 2020 he was awarded with the ECOFIN prize for \u201cFinanciero del A\u00f1o\u201d and the Spanish Marketing Association named him \u201cLider Empresarial Impulso del Marketing\u201d. In 2021, he was named \u201cHonorary Ambassador of Spain Brand\u201d by the Leading Brands of Spain Forum and Actualidad Econ\u00f3mica has recognized him as \u201cBest Businessman of the Year\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mr. \u00c1lvarez-Pallete has a degree in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid and he also studied Economics at the Free University of Brussels, in Belgium. He holds an International Management Programme from IPADE an Advance Research Degree from the Complutense University of Madrid. In February 1999 he joined the Telef\u00f3nica Group as Chief Financial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"template":"","meta":{"image":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/AlvarezPallete_300x300-1.png","json":{"gsma_people_headshot":"[7212]","gsma_people_company":"","gsma_people_job":"Chairman & CEO, Telef\u00f3nica. GSMA Board Chair","gsma_people_member":"0","gsma_people_email":"","gsma_people_website":"","gsma_people_twitter":"","gsma_people_facebook":"","gsma_people_linkedin":"","gsma_people_authored":"","gsma_people_page":true,"gsma_people_old_id":"7214"},"cats":["gsma-board"]},"person_categories":[1291],"yoast_head":"\n